Biden Admin Removes Dozens Of Chinese Companies From Trade Blacklist Same Day Top Official Announces Beijing Visit

The Biden administration removed dozens of Chinese companies from a trade restriction list the same day a top U.S. official announced her trip to Beijing for “constructive discussions” amid stabilization efforts with China.

The U.S. Commerce Department announced on Tuesday that Secretary Gina Raimondo will meet with Chinese officials and American business leaders to discuss “issues relating to the U.S.-China commercial relationship, challenges faced by U.S. businesses, and areas for potential cooperation,” during a visit to Beijing on Sunday. The Commerce Department Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) removed 27 Chinese companies from its unverified list the same day of the announcement, making it easier for those companies to trade with the U.S, according to a Tuesday press release from the BIS.

“We welcome the U.S. decision to remove Chinese entities from the “unverified list,” Liu Pengyu, spokesman for China’s Embassy in the U.S., said in a tweet on Tuesday. “It shows that [China and the U.S.] can address specific concerns through communication, based on mutual respect. China will continue to firmly defend its lawful rights and interests.”

Foreign companies registered on the unverified list are subject to enhanced trade restrictions and greater transparency requirements with the U.S., according to the BIS website. Companies are placed on the list if the U.S. cannot verify their legitimacy for the end use or end user of items they receive exports from, according to the Code of Federal Regulations.

Twenty-seven Chinese companies were removed from the unverified list by BIS within hours of the Commerce Department’s announcement that Raimondo would be traveling to Beijing for diplomatic discussions.

“The ability to verify the legitimacy and reliability of foreign parties receiving U.S. exports through the timely completion of end-use checks is a core principle of our export control system,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod, according to a press release from BIS. “Our removal of 33 parties demonstrates the concrete benefit companies receive when they or a host government cooperates with BIS to complete a successful end-use check.”

Raimondo’s Beijing visit comes one month after her email server, along with other servers in the Commerce and State Department, was breached by a Chinese-based hacking group that targeted dozens of global organizations over a months-long cyber attack campaign.

The Commerce Department and the BIS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.